NAFTA MONITOR VOLUME I, NUMBER 3 Tuesday, January 11, 1994 Headlines: SUPREME COURT REJECTS NEED FOR NAFTA ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT MEXICAN GOVERNMENT WILL TALK WITH REBELS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY BE ON THE DECLINE IN CALIFORNIA CANADA TRYING TO DISMANTLE INTERNAL TRADE BARRIERS _______________________________________________________ SUPREME COURT REJECTS NEED FOR NAFTA ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT The U.S. Supreme Court Monday rejected arguments by the Sierra Club and Public Citizen that the Clinton administration should have prepared an environmental impact statement of NAFTA. The groups had appealed to the high court after an appeals court overturned a decision by a federal court judge, who had ordered an environmental assessment of NAFTA because the trade pact violated domestic environmental law. The Supreme Court denied the appeal without any comment or dissent. Source: "Environmental Report on NAFTA Unneeded, High Court Decides," INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY, January 11, 1994. _______________________________________________________ MEXICAN GOVERNMENT WILL TALK WITH REBELS In an attempt to stop the revolt in Chiapas from spreading to Mexico City, Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari named a commission to promote "dialogue" with the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Salinas announced the commission late Saturday, following the explosion of a car bomb in Mexico City. The explosion, which caused significant damage but no serious injuries, raised fears that the revolt was spreading. According to a government statement, the commission "will have full autonomy to evaluate the situations and problems to be resolved and propose alternatives and measures to tackle ... in a concerted way the problems in the conflict zone." According to the Puebla newspaper, SINTESIS, the rebels had earlier offered to open negotiations with three moderators, including Nobel Peace Prize winner and indigenous leader Rigoberta Menchu. In a statement on the conflict, Menchu said, "At the core of a search for a peaceful solution, priority (must) be given to age-old economic, social, political and cultural problems of Chiapas's society." The Zapatistas have linked their struggle to land rights. Chiapas was largely excluded from land redistribution in the constitution that followed the 1910 Mexican revolution and much of its farmland is now in the hands of powerful ranchers. Canadian indigenous leaders are planning a trip to Chiapas to show support for the mostly Mayan peasants fighting for land and rights. They are demanding that Mexico restore Article 27 of the Constitution, which prevented the privatization of community held land holdings (ejidos), and the return of land to the peasants of Chiapas. Of the Mexican government's repeal of Article 27 in preparation for NAFTA, Ovide Mercredi, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), said, "It explains, in part, one of the root causes of the violence that erupted in that part of the country." He said it "would be the equivalent to the Canadian government saying that Indian reservations can be sold without the consent of the Indian people." The issue has forced the AFN, which represents more than 650 bands, to be vigilant that NAFTA "does not become another weapon for the loss of Indian land and Indian resources." He added, "If the NAFTA agreement can have such a negative impact in terms of land rights for the Indian people of Mexico, the same situation could arise in Canada. But at least we have legal protection we can rely on." One rebel leader identifying himself as Commander Marcos called NAFTA "the death certificate for the indigenous people of Mexico." The Canadian delegation hopes to pressure the Mexican government to "deal with the Indian situation and to encourage them to resolve the issue through negotiations," Mercredi told reporters. Mercredi called on Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari to find a quick and peaceful solution with no reprisals and urged Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien to phone Salinas to voice Canada's concerns. Sources: Christine Tierney, "Mexican Government Names Dialogue Commission," REUTER, January 9, 1993; Kieran Murray, "Mexican Army Moves in After Fight With Peasants," REUTER, January 2, 1994; Rick Mofina, "Mercredi, Other Leaders Going to Mexico," MONTREAL GAZETTE, January 8, 1994. IIDO Press Release, January 8, 1994; "Statement by Mexican Social Organizations on Chiapas," January 4, 1994; Rigoberta Menchu Press Release, January 3, 1994. _______________________________________________________ ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY BE ON THE DECLINE IN CALIFORNIA While public concern about illegal immigration has grown in California, there are indications that the number of legal and illegal immigrants is declining. Many illegal immigrants appear to be returning to Mexico after finding that California's continuing economic slump and increasing crime rates make life just as or more difficult in the United States. "Everybody thinks the streets are paved with gold here and they find that is not the case," said Alan C. Nelson, a former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) official. "Word gets around that things have tightened up." The Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles reports that the number of Mexicans seeking permits to ship their belongings back to Mexico from the Los Angeles area nearly doubled from 1992 to 1993. The INS reports that apprehensions of illegal aliens trying to cross the California-Mexico border dropped by about 6 percent in the year ending September 30. And the Census Bureau reported last month that for the first time in 20 years California's population grew at a slower rate than the rest of the country. Source: Robert Reinhold, "An Ebb in California Illegal Alien Tide," NEW YORK TIMES, January 9, 1994. _______________________________________________________ CANADA TRYING TO DISMANTLE INTERNAL TRADE BARRIERS As trade barriers come down in North America and globally, Canada is turning its attention to the hundreds of restrictions on commerce that exist within its borders. Political leaders are attempting to reach a formula by June for removing all trade barriers within Canada. Each of Canada's 10 provinces currently has many laws and regulations designed to stimulate local employment and insulate certain businesses from competition from the rest of Canada. For example, until recently it was almost impossible to buy Moosehead beer, a product of New Brunswick, in Ontario, although it was easily available in the United States. Moosehead is now available in Ontario, but is treated and priced like an import. "It's ambitious but entirely feasible," said Stephen Van Houten, president of the Canadian Manufacturers Association, about the chances of establishing a code by June. "The politicians are becoming embarrassed by their failure to deal effectively with this problem, and they know they look silly, not just at home but abroad." The manufacturers' association listed the "cost" of some 500 interprovincial barriers at 1 percent of the Canadian economy, or nearly US$5 billion. Some economists, however, say that figure is way too high. Source: Charles Truehart, "Canada Seeking to Lower Provincial Trade Barriers," WASHINGTON POST, January 10, 1994. _______________________________________________________ Editor: Kai Mander The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) 1313 Fifth Street SE, Suite #303, Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546 USA Telephone:(612)379-5980 Fax:(612)379-5982 E-Mail:kmander@igc.apc.org _______________________________________________________